Truffles

 Back in December, I had posted a picture on Instagram of the truffles I was making for one of my Christmas banquets.  A few people wanted the recipe, and let me tell you, these do not disappoint.  They are so creamy and delicious.

The recipe is not original with me, a friend brought us a beautiful box full one December day a very long time ago and I begged for the recipe. Here it is:

1 1/2 lbs. chocolate wafers or chips

8 oz. Cream cheese, softened

1lb. chocolate for coating

Melt the 24oz. (1 1/2lbs) of chocolate in the microwave.  Or my favorite way to melt it slow is to set a glass bowl over the top of a pan of boiling water.  Bring the water temp back a little, dump the chocolate into the bowl and it melts slow and smooth.  Add the softened cream cheese and flavoring (more on that in a minute).  Big tip: go scant on the chocolate.  The cream cheese makes them creamy and silky, chocolate tends to dry them out. Mix well. Refrigerate a bit.  Drop by teaspoonfulls onto wax paper; chill again until firm enough to roll in your hand.  Roll into balls; place on wax paper and again chill until firm.  Melt the chocolate for coating, then dip the balls into it.  This is the stage when you'd want to sprinkle with any fun candies,sprinkles, etc. I also really love to add in a dash of coconut oil to my dipping chocolate, since it makes the melted chocolate so smooth and also hardens quickly when cooled.  When hardened, drizzle with white chocolate, dark chocolate or candy coating.  

Here are some variations:

(Just make adjustments to the basic recipe above)

Mocha:

16oz. milk chocolate, 8 oz. dark

3 TB. strong coffee

Coat with 12oz. milk chocolate and 4 oz. dark

Mint:

24oz. milk chocolate

10 drops creme de menthe flavor

Coat with 16oz. dark chocolate 

You can tinker with adding in other flavorings to the truffle or to the coating.(Think caramel, raspberry, key lime, etc)  Flavorings that contain alcohol will tend to dry out your chocolate faster as well, so just ease up a bit on how many drops or teaspoonfuls you use.  LorAnn Gourmet flavors packs a lot of flavor in just a few drops.

This recipe yields 50-60 candies 

Have fun and experiment.  This would be a fun Valentines project to do with the kids, or an irresistable treat for a special somebody.  They are beautiful tucked into a box with some tissue paper and wrapped in a bow.

I'd love to know if you try them!

JO